Massacre
by AeonFrodo
Summary: As part of the Golden Lions, Morte must play her role to accomplish their mission. But as complications come up, she might have to give into her selfish desires. Set 5 years before Sands of Destruction.
1. Chapter 1: Lion Cub

**Disclaimer**: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of Sega. The custom-created characters NOT in the actual series and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with Sega, or any of their affiliates. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Massacre**

**Chapter 1: Lion Cub**

It was a wonderful sunny day, with the sun's rays beating down on the Sandsea. With the sand reflecting the light towards anybody who would cross it, they'll be cooked quickly. Fortunately, the Golden Lions were on one of their ships, the Sea Gale, to cross the endless sea-like desert quickly and efficiently.

A girl of eleven years, the youngest member of the Golden Lions, was looking over the wooden barriers on the side of the ship, with the wind blowing in her long auburn hair. She loved the view she had on the large boat, as she kept on staring at the horizon, seeing land in the distance.

Suddenly, a huge gust of wind blew on the ship, where she was forced to hang on to the barriers to not be blown back thanks to her small red cape, which was part of her uniform. She wore orange clothing underneath golden breastplate, consisting of a long sleeved orange shirt and an orange dress. Her weapon, a large, crescent shaped sword was tightly packed in a small strap on her left leg, for easy pulling out and a quick first attack.

She was Morte Asherah, a spunky swordswoman with an incredibly strong prejudice against feralkind. But unlike other members of the organisation, she wouldn't talk about the reasons why to anyone.

"Hey Mort!" A comrade shouted her nickname.

The girl turned her head and saw a man in similar uniform. He wore a long orange cape, red clothing and heavy maroon armour. But for kicks he wore a baggy, green hat. His complexion was white, with tiny freckles on his face and brown eyes.

"Hey Agan," Morte stated.

"Looking forward to the next mission?" Agan enquired.

"Yeah," Morte responded, "I hope we get to kill more ferals."

"Morte, you know we have to stick to our objective. We can't crave a path of destruction wherever we go," Agan retorted.

"These monsters kill innocent people and treat us like slaves! How could we stay in shadows while others suffer?" Morte barked.

"I'm sorry Morte, but no matter how we try, we can't save everyone, especially with violence," Agan explained.

Morte averted her eyes from Agan and scowled. Dark memories of witnessing events that involved ferals killing and suppressing human beings in their own homes. Even they go to the extent of burning houses and destroying entire villages and their inhabitants.

The smoke and the fires still burned in Morte's mind, eight years from when her village was wiped off the map from an attack from ferals and their leaders. Morte not only lost her family in the massacre, she had lost her entire community. She was the only survivor, at three years of age.

That ordeal had lightened up the fires inside Morte's heart, of her hatred of ferals, and has made her a strong fighter for humanity in the Golden Lions. However, her beliefs made her stubborn and determined to kill them all, blinding her of peaceful options and the stealth the group needed to remain undetected by Beastlords.

Agan was the only person in the Golden Lions who really knew about what happened to her. After all, he became her adopted brother after the incident. He remembered the day like yesterday, where his parents introduced him to his new sibling.

She seemed incredibly quiet, and only really talked at the table during dinner in the presence of both his parents. He couldn't understand why she was this way until his father told him of the destruction brought upon her village. He remembered the horrific story because it was the first time he'd ever seen his father shed tears.

It was hard for him to comprehend losing a family, but he barely could sympathize with Morte of losing an entire community.

"Look, I know it feels horrible losing your family, but in order to keep our group safe from ambushes and large armies of ferals we must find the path that exposes us to the least violence possible," Agan continued.

Morte angrily sighed, but understood Agan's reasoning. She didn't to admit it, but she hated to put her own desires aside to help the group achieve their invisible, yet all important second objective.

Suddenly, she noticed somebody a few metres behind Agan. She moved her head slightly to the right to get a clear view of the person.

The person was taller than Agan, and had a muscular build, making him look daunting to young Morte. He had blonde hair, green eyes and wore the Golden Lions' male uniform, except he did not wear a cape.

Morte knew him as the second in command, Karna. He signalled to Morte to come with him, with a serious expression to let her know the importance of the meeting.

"Excuse me, Karna's calling me," Morte whispered, moving past Agan.

Agan spun around and watched Morte walk away with Karna escorting her to his room, he assumed. He was worried whether she had gotten into trouble relating to her activities during her time on deck or on a mission.

Knowing her extremely well, she wouldn't mean to cause trouble, but she puts the group in dangerous situations sometimes.

He crossed his fingers and thought; _I __hope __it__'__s __just __a__ warning_.

* * *

><p>Morte entered the room after Karna, looking around at the light wood which created the box they were in. Karna spun around as Morte shut the door behind her, staring at her intently as he frowned.<p>

From that expression, Morte was certain she had done something wrong. She didn't know what, but she was bracing for a spray.

"Am I in trouble?" Morte asked.

"Not exactly. I'm just here to issue you a warning," Karna answered.

"What is it?" Morte questioned.

"Simple. Restrain your emotions. We want to avoid a conflict with ferals, as we will be negotiating a peaceful alliance with these ferals to take down the corrupted Beastlords and their towns. We got a letter from Felis Rex from his hometown of Zenir two weeks ago, expressing his desire to join forces with us," Karna explained.

"Then why did we have to come?" Morte demanded.

"To stop a strike if any were to happen. This is the perfect opportunity for you to contain yourself."

"Ok. What if I'm not capable of doing that?"

"I've stationed you with your brother, so you can speak to him about your anger if necessary."

The word _brother_ always triggered off a memory where Morte was spending time with her real elder brother. She hated how people in the Golden Lions used that word so lightly, not understanding that Agan could never replace her older brother, Reve.

"Agan's not my brother! My brother died eight years ago!" Morte snapped.

"He's the closest thing you have for a brother, Morte," Karna retorted.

Morte responded in silence, reflecting on how true that suggestion was. Nothing could truly replace her older brother, but growing up with Agan, who was two years older than her, he was kind of like a brother to her. He always looked out for her and tried to keep her out of trouble.

"Do you understand now?" Karna asked.

"Yes. Am I allowed to leave?" Morte enquired.

"Yes. And don't do anything reckless," Karna warned.

Morte spun around and exited the room, glad her confrontation with Karna did not end badly. Although, she was deeply disappointed that she couldn't kill ferals, knowing it would be difficult to contain her anger when she was finally in the feral town.

* * *

><p><strong>Author<strong>**'****s**** Notes:** Well, I hope that's a good start for my first Sands of Destruction fanfic. Most things from this fanfic will come from the video game, but there are a few items from the anime, to make sense of Morte's feelings of vengeance towards the ferals.

Oh, for those that haven't played the video game, Beastmen are known as ferals/feralkind.

There was only about three times in the game where Morte reveals that she used to be a member of the Golden Lions. The mentions weren't that obvious either, except the last one in the hospital scene where Karna clearly indicated he knew Morte.

Upon Karna seeming to know Morte and Agan quite well, I assumed five years before the game, Karna would not have been in charge of the Golden Lions to know them as intimately as he has.

I did include Morte's brother from the anime, however, to make sense with the game, he had to be older, instead of younger like the anime. There are at least three reasons for this decision, but I would rather explain this at the end of the story instead of a chapter into it.

And if you're wondering, I will write more fanfictions regarding Morte's past with what was mentioned about it this chapter.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the story so far and look forward to the next chapter!


	2. Chapter 2: Too Good to Be True

_Sorry about the late upload. My Nanna died suddenly two weeks ago and I had to have time to mourn her death. So I was in no mood to update last week. Hope you guys understand. _

**Massacre**

**Chapter 2: Too Good to Be True**

An hour later, the Sea Gale had finally docked at the port of the town Zenir, on the Autumn Isle. The town looked like it was rich, with perfect buildings, lavish paths and golden trees with its leaves falling off. It was a wonderful sight to see, especially with the children playing with the multi-coloured leaves.

The town was resident to cat ferals, the beasts that have cat like features such as claws or whiskers. There were a few other species of ferals, but everywhere the Golden Lions looked there were cats.

Morte felt calmed by the town, which had surprised her. She believed that thanks to the sights the town offered, that she would be able to control her emotions around the ferals. However, she felt strange that there were no humans in town or in slavery. Seeing that made her smile for the first time in a long while, proud that at least one feral dominated town was not putting the people under oppression.

Agan, who was walking next to Morte, turned his head to the right and saw her grin. He couldn't help but smile with her, holding the same reasons.

"Well, I haven't seen that smile in a while," Agan announced.

"I'm… just really glad I don't see any suffering in this part of the world," Morte responded.

Agan acknowledged Morte, and then scanned more of the area around him, attempting to process the luscious colours and activity. Zenir was one of the most beautiful tiny towns on the Autumn Isle, being hidden away by colourful foliage from city goers.

Soon enough, when they reached the residence of the Beastlord, Felis Rex, it appeared clearer and less colourful. The mansion was huge and was designed to be taller than any other building in town. It was a large two storey building that was painted mostly dark blue, with cream coloured beams to divide the house into its sections. The roof was a light reddish brown, matching the rest of the house.

The doors at the front spanned up to the second floor, making the humans feel inadequate to the size of the doors alone. It was indeed, a house fit for a Beastlord.

Morte especially, felt insignificant not just comparing herself to the building, but to the other humans around her. The twenty one older humans, standing around the eleven year old girl had her feeling very intimidated and tiny.

Agan used to be really short, but was currently going through his growth spurt. He was almost as tall as the other Lions, as he was growing very quickly. At least with his new height, Morte would feel a little bit more comfortable.

The leader of the Golden Lions, Quinton and Karna turned their attention to their group before the large doors. They were ready to make their huge announcement to the Golden Lions assigned with them, hoping they'll be excited about the future that they would present to the members.

"Lions, we are finally going to begin forging our alliance with Felis Rex and his army!" Quinton declared.

The group cheered, all except for Morte, who felt that siding with the ferals was a bad idea. They lie, they betray, they destroy everything in their way, including humans.

"We will finally stand a chance against the corrupted Beastlords and the Salvation Committee!" Karna shouted.

The Lions cheered even louder, as Morte grew afraid and uncertain of the future for the Golden Lions. She could see the ferals betray them as soon as the leaders sign the treaty. Agan noticed Morte wasn't joining in the chorus of cheers and averted his eyes from the leaders.

"Mort, is something the matter?" Agan hissed.

Morte didn't feel right telling Agan in the middle of the crowd, but she didn't have a choice.

"Agan, I just have a feeling all this is too good to be true," Morte whispered loudly.

"I know you may think that, but believe it or not, they're genuine. They gave us a letter signed with Felis Rex's paw print!" Agan exclaimed.

"It could've been anybody's. I think we're letting our guard down way too much," Morte responded.

"I agree with you on that part, but I'm confident our leader could recognise his paw print," Agan stated.

Abruptly, their leader's voice boomed again, suddenly forcing Agan and Morte to pay attention to him.

"You know your mission! Karna will assign your positions! We wish you good luck while we sign our alliance! Taking our first steps towards our human rights!" Quinton proclaimed.

The Golden Lions cheered extremely as their leader entered the mansion and waved back at them. Karna shut the door behind his superior and faced his audience of twenty Golden Lions.

"Alright Lions, we're going to send half of you to guard the Sea Gale, while the other half will patrol the town and set out in groups of two," Karna explained.

Morte began to ignore his voice as she directed her attention towards Agan. She'd rather not listen to where everybody else was stationed.

"I hope we can move around some areas of the town while on duty," Morte quipped.

"Mort, you're going to find out soon, just stay quiet and listen to your orders," Agan snapped.

"C'mon, what's the problem of talking quietly among each other?" Morte asked mockingly.

"Because it interrupts my focus!" Agan retorted.

"My little voice shouldn't be capable of doing that," Morte teased.

"Stop acting like a child Mort!" Agan yelled.

Agan's outburst caused Karna to stop speaking, glaring at the guilty foster siblings. The other eighteen members were also staring at the duo, frustrated with them as they broke their cheerful mood.

"Ok Lions, head off. Agan, Morte, stay here for a moment," Karna ordered.

Half the members went in the direction of the Sea Gale, while the other half began heading in the areas they were ordered to patrol. They had every faith that Karna would have a good spat at the kids.

Morte and Agan looked up at Karna, attempting to avert his eyes while staring at his face. However, Karna wouldn't let them, stamping his authority upon them.

"Stop arguing and focus on the mission! This is no place for sibling banter! Remember, you're supposed to make ourselves look good in front of the citizens here!" Karna warned.

"Yes mother," Morte rudely stated.

Karna glared at Morte and replied, "Look, you must take this seriously. Our reputation in this town must make a good first impression to convince the citizens that we will support them through adversity."

Agan and Morte nodded right away, although Morte only responded to convince Karna that she was in agreement with him.

"Since Morte is here, you guys can patrol the entire town, and be backup for the other members if they engage in combat," Karna commanded.

"Why is that?" Agan asked.

"I think Morte would be better off moving around town instead of remaining in one area. Do you agree?" Karna questioned.

"Yes, it'll kill the time," Morte answered.

"Ok. Well, I wish you two good luck. And stay good," Karna responded.

Morte and Agan turned their backs to Karna as he headed through the large doors of the mansion. Once the foster siblings walked a hundred metres from the building, Morte looked back at the mansion and grinned.

Agan noticed her expression and asked, "What are you smiling about?"

"Best orders ever! Well, second best compared to killing ferals," Morte answered.

"So, what do you plan to do?" Agan questioned.

"Well, we're going to check this place out, and if it's not clean then we'll kill those ferals!" Morte shouted enthusiastically.

"We're not authorised to kill ferals, Mort. No matter how much you want to, we cannot cause chaos while they sign the treaty."

"Then, is it fine that we check through the stores and other significant buildings?"

"Karna didn't say anything about checking the buildings."

"Well then, let's go!" Morte declared.

She sprinted off ahead of Agan, running along the path surrounded by leaves. Agan ran after his excitable teammate, making sure she doesn't bump into ferals recklessly.

"Mort! Hold up!"

* * *

><p>Karna was escorted to a room that was decorated luxuriously. The room had many expensive paintings on the walls, with a coat of arms and stuffed mounts on the walls. To make these objects stand out, the walls had been painted blue, to set up a calm atmosphere.<p>

There was also a fireplace embedded in the wall, with two brown couches and a small table surrounding it. The leader of the Golden Lions, Quinton, was sitting on the couch to Karna's left, while Felis Rex was positioned on the opposite couch.

"Ah, welcome Karna. Please, sit next to your leader and we'll discuss our treaty," Felis Rex declared.

Karna approached the leaders and sat down next to Quinton. Quinton looked over at his second, then diverted his attention to the Beastlord.

"Felis Rex, wasn't your son supposed to be here?" Quinton enquired.

"My son, apparently, is too busy dallying with the ladies on his _pleasure__ cruiser_, the Zifnir. I wish I never bought him that boat," Felis Rex hissed.

"Alright, we understand Felis Rex," Quinton stated.

"Anyway, I have some concerns regarding your group," Felis Rex announced.

"What are you worried about?" Karna asked.

"Why do you as a species recruit very young people into groups? I think it's extremely dangerous for children under adolescence age to be involved in groups that specialise in combat," Felis Rex questioned.

"Are you talking about Morte?" Quinton enquired.

"Is that the auburn haired girl?"

"Yes."

"Why did you recruit her in the Golden Lions, the most respected group that fights for humanity?"

"She's a very skilled swordswoman, more skilled than some of our own," Quinton answered, "She has been practicing swordplay at a very young age, and she works well with other members when it comes to combat."

"Alright, as long as she keeps a cool head and defends my people, I'm fine with her."

"Should we get back to the treaty?"

"Yes. Of course."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> The only thing of note is that Felis Rex in this fanfic is not the Felis Rex you see in Sands of Destruction. The Felis Rex title is just a title bestowed down upon the Beastlord of all cat feralkind in this case. I also assumed that Felis Rex (Sands of Destruction) had the Zifnir for several years and was a gift from his father, the Felis Rex in this fanfic.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this somewhat short chapter and I hope to update around this time next week!


	3. Chapter 3: Hollow

**Massacre**

**Chapter 3: Hollow**

During the patrol, the foster siblings had walked along the town's paths, stumbling into houses to meet the Zenir citizens, who welcomed them with open arms. They also bumped into friendly ferals on the street who have met the kis with generosity; some even play their instruments as a greeting for them.

They checked out the general store and the armourer, where the feral behind the counter showed them items and armour they sold. Morte was interested in getting a few smoke bombs from the general store, but Agan kept his pennies in his pocket, knowing Morte shouldn't be in possession of them.

Just a few moments ago, Morte and Agan were spotted by a blacksmith who called them over to check out the smelted and imbued weapons. It was Morte's first time at a blacksmith, so Agan and the blacksmith explained how weapons were strengthened to help performance in battle. Morte could barely get her head around it, but fortunately, the most important information to remember was to know what materials she wants to enhance her weapon, which wasn't too much.

Soon, the siblings finally reached the weapons shop, known as an arsenal to the citizens. Agan entered the store first, seeing immediately the weapons on the wall, displayed behind the counter. The shopkeeper was a feral, with whiskers, short hair and a tail, like a cat and was fully clothed.

Agan looked down, gazing at the floorboards. They were securely nailed, and the pattern seemed incredibly consistent. He finally walked up to the counter after his inspection, trying to find whips on the display wall.

"Looking for something?" the shopkeeper asked.

"Yes," Agan answered, picking up Morte's footsteps, aware that she was checking out the store, "Do you have any whips?"

"Yes we do. I'll grab some from the storeroom," the shopkeeper replied.

He turned to his left and entered a room behind the safety of his small counter. Noticing this, Morte stomped on the floor slightly harder, in an attempt to find any suspicious sounds underneath the floorboards.

"Morte, this guy is clean. Even the floorboards don't change their pattern," Agan hissed.

"Don't count on it. He's probably concealed it in a non suspicious spot, so that people like us cannot pick it up that easily," Morte affirmed, placing her weight in a section of the floor, resulting in a similar sound.

As she moved her leg to a spot near the corner of the counter, she heard a hollow sound underneath the floor. Morte gazed at the spot for a while, then checked the boards next to it. It had a different sound, the same she heard before until discovering the hollow sound.

Suddenly, she went on her hands and knees and looked through the small gaps in an attempt to open what she thought she found, a door to the basement. She quickly found a larger gap, and slipped her thin nails between to get a grip on it. She pulled up the wood slightly, spotting stairs leading deep into darkness.

"He's hiding something," Morte declared.

Agan stared at where Morte was looking, and could also see the stairs. He hated to admit it, but Morte was right. Even though he thought she was only acting on her very prejudiced thoughts.

"Yeah, check it out further. I'll keep an eye out for you," Agan whispered.

As Morte began lifting the door up higher, the shopkeeper returned with a bunch of whips in his hands. But in the corner of his eye he spotted Morte heaving up a part of his floorboards to enter his basement. He snarled and launched himself towards Morte.

In one sudden movement, Morte grabbed her sword with her left hand and swang it in front of her. The attack was clean and timed well to cut the feral's chest, killing him instantly. She breathed heavily as she stared at the corpse, feeling deep satisfaction from the kill.

"That felt good," Morte stated while smirking.

"Don't let it get to your head. Since he attacked you like that, he's obviously hiding something. And it could be really bad," Agan warned.

As Morte bent down and opened the wooden door slightly, she responded, "Yeah. I just hope it isn't."

The eleven year old pushed the door up until it was completely vertical, seeing the wooden steps leading down to blackness. Morte felt slightly nervous seeing that, feeling that Agan was probably right on his theory.

She picked up her bloody weapon and slowly descended down the stairs, growing fearful as she took one step closer to the discovery that could devastate her and Agan. He followed her, sensing her anxiety as he stepped down the stairs with her. He even ducked to allow more light to pass over his shoulders.

As they reached the bottom of the flight of stairs, the duo had submerged themselves in complete darkness, where they could barely see anything a few metres in front of them. Morte had this ominous feeling just being in darkness. She could see Agan's suspicions come true, but she had no idea what could be living in the depths.

Unexpectedly, a small figure ran into their sight. He wore dull clothes that were dirty and ridden with holes. His face and skin was covered in dirt, with a few untreated wounds on his arms that were almost infected. The duo was horrified to see a human boy neglected in the state he was in.

"Oh my God," Morte gasped.

The boy ran up to her and wrapped his arms around his stomach. She held the boy with her right hand, feeling terrible that most likely, humans were suffering in this wonderful town.

He soon let go of her and gave a hug to Agan. Morte retreated her weapon as Agan embraced the boy, whispering positive words to him, making him smile.

The boy let go of Agan and asked, "You're here to get us out of here, right?"

"Y-Yes," Morte stammered, still recovering from the shock, "H-How many of y-you are here?"

"Mum tells me that there… are about fifty of us," the boy answered.

"Are you serious?" Agan questioned in surprise.

"My Mum would never lie to me, sir," the boy replied.

Morte and Agan were still trying to comprehend of how many human beings were trapped down in the basement. No major questions were asked about why they were down there, but they felt like they knew why, and did not want to see it with their own eyes.

"Can I show you?" the boy asked, holding Morte's hand.

"Yes… please show us the people down here," Morte responded distantly.

The boy walked further into darkness, with Morte holding his hand tight, while Agan followed them both. Morte had a lot racing through her mind as the boy dragged her deeper into the huge basement.

She thought of the possibility that there may be another graphic event in her life. She could imagine how injured their bodies were, how much they were begging for food and see how these people lost all hope of being rescued.

Those thoughts reminded her of the pain and suffering of the community she lived with just before they were all slaughtered. Her anger and hatred for the ferals were slowly rising up as the boy further lead her through the basement.

Soon, the boy stopped and stared into the darkness, waiting for someone to come out. Morte and Agan could smell the strong stretch coming from nearby, indicating that someone was dead and/or there was a great lack of hygiene.

But they weren't prepared for what they were about to see and hear…

* * *

><p><strong>Author<strong>**'****s ****Note: **There isn't much to mention, except I assumed this may be the first opportunity Agan has ever gotten to explain to Morte about imbuing and smelting of weapons.

And that's really it. Hope you guys stay tuned for the next chapter!


	4. Chapter 4: Justice For All

**Massacre**

**Chapter 4: Justice For All**

Agan heard feet shuffling the gravel underneath their feet. He would usually draw his whip out at this point, but he was certain there were no ferals underground. However, there was no defence for the figure emerging from the shadows. She was taller than Agan and Morte, but looked more malnourished than the boy. Her clothes were soaked with dirt and grime, and her skin wrapped around her thin frame tightly.

Morte didn't want to look at the woman, but she told herself that this could be the least of what she could see. Not only that, but she had seen a lot worse in her lifetime. Those thoughts allowed the eleven year old to stare at the woman.

"Oh Tim!" the woman exclaimed, running up to the boy. Tim let go of Morte's hand and received her hug with open arms, relieved to be in her embrace. She was obviously his mother, probably starving more to feed her child. "I'm glad you're alright. But who are these people? Are they here to save us?"

"Yes. I'm Morte, a new recruit of the Golden Lions," Morte introduced.

"Agan Mardus, member of the Golden Lions," Agan stated.

The woman let go of Tim and cried out in desperation to Agan, "You're related to the Sand Tribe's Chief! Please, get us out of here before we eat another one!"

"Wait, another one? You mean you had to resort to eat another human being for survival?" Agan asked, disguised and shocked.

"Yes, one person didn't want to live without any hope of equality between human and ferals. S-so he sacrificed himself… t-to us," Tim's mother stammered while shedding tears.

"How much food was there between you all?" Morte enquired, still astonished that what she was hearing.

"It was very scarce. There was only enough for three days between all of us," Tim's mother answered.

"How long have you been down here?"

"I don't know, but it feels like it's been at least two weeks."

The duo was speechless. They were upset that they should've come to this town earlier to save that extra person and free the group of humans from oppression.

However, Morte remembered that Karna told her they received a letter two weeks ago from Felis Rex, around the same time the peasants were forced underground. It sparked the thought that Felis Rex had panned to make the human presence in his village non-existent so that the ferals wouldn't treat them horribly in the eyes of the Golden Lions.

Morte came to the conclusion it was the only way Felis Rex could make Zenir look good to the Golden Lions. She needed to stop her leaders from signing the treaty before it was too late.

Then, the foster siblings heard plenty of footsteps getting louder, assuming it was the rest of the people trapped underground running along the gravel. The people soon crowded around the woman, staring at their heroes.

They all appeared weak, malnourished and helpless. Making their vicarious pleas a noisy chaos for the young members of the Golden Lions to shift through. But Morte quickly had enough of everybody speaking at once.

"People, please calm yourselves! We are wondering who put you down here!" Morte declared, her voice booming over the weakened humans.

"Felis Rex did! That's who!" a man barked.

"We've been treated like we're disposable! We need our revenge!" another man added.

"We have suffered for too long! We need to fight back for our children!" another woman shouted.

"You know the reason why?" Agan questioned.

Before another man could open his mouth, Morte intervened, "Of course they do! Felis Rex wanted to put them underground so that we don't see the ferals torturing humans when we walked through town, which would convince our leaders to sign the treaty!"

"Stop jumping to conclusions Mort! Let these people-" Agan argued.

"She's right," an older man interrupted, "We don't know the reason why we were thrown in here, but this girl's explanation sounds right."

Agan found it hard to accept that Morte's _logical_ reason was correct. He believed it was just based on her pure hatred of feralkind, which he thought clouded her vision. However, if the people agree to it, so should he, as their condition was evidence enough to not trust Felis Rex.

"Do you all agree to that reason?" Agan enquired, making sure that it wasn't just one person who believed Morte.

The people responded with 'aye' in unison, also nodding to prove their confidence in Morte's reasoning. Agan had no choice but to agree with the people of the intentions of Felis Rex.

"Ok people, I'm heading out to bring the rest of the Golden Lions here. Morte will look after you guys for the time being," Agan declared.

"Shouldn't I come up with you?" Morte asked.

"The ferals would sniff out the blood of their kind on your blade, then they would kill you. It's best you stay down here. I won't be long," Agan explained.

Morte nodded, and watched Agan sprint away from the large group of starving citizens. She gazed at the people when he disappeared into the black, wondering how she would look after them. She stared into their eyes, which were full of hope that they'll finally get out of the depths.

However, as people began to surround her, she felt her anger bubbling up inside, seeing their dirty faces smeared with hopeful expressions. She was annoyed to be with them, when she should be killing the ferals who did this to these defenceless people.

"What's your name?" a man asked.

"Morte."

"She managed to take out the beast guarding our way out! We're free again!" Tim exclaimed.

"She's a Beastslayer! At such a young age!" Tim's mother proclaimed.

The complements from Tim's mother motivated Morte to kill the beasts above ground. She's been feeling that way ever since she saw that little boy. Ever since, her anger grew gradually, as she saw more people in similar or worse condition to the boy.

She gazed at the other people, seeing some were on the verge of death. She could hardly contain herself while being encircled by injured humans. But she did not want them to feel her wrath.

"What did they do to you on the day you were sent here?" Morte demanded.

"Oh, it was horrible!"

"My Dad was whipped because he wasn't moving enough."

"My wife was stoned to death for trying to protect our child!

"We were forced down this hell hole! Some of us were pushed down the stairs!"

"So many people were hurt Beastslayer. I wish I could fight those ferals to protect people! Just like you!" Tim shouted.

"That's it!" Morte boomed, "Get out of my way! I'm going to kill those bastards!"

She stormed from the group of people, moving quickly to the light at the end of the tunnel. She could hear the people cheering behind her, proud to finally get their justice on the ferals who imprisoned them.

She drew out her weapon. Edges were bloody. Anger and hatred fueled her thoughts. Her grip tightened on her blade until her knuckles burned white. She desired vengeance.

For the people. For the Golden Lions. _For __herself._

* * *

><p><strong>Author<strong>**'****s**** Notes: **Finally this chapter introduces aspects of the Sands of Destruction game that never were explained in-game. In this case, how Morte got one of her three names. There will be more in the next few chapters.

For those that haven't played the game, the Sand Tribe is pretty well known throughout the world for being the largest group of traveling nomads who help human beings. I'm surprised that in-game they haven't been targeted by the Beastlords and the Salvation Committee, so I'm assuming they have saved people without causing them to act.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next exciting installment!


	5. Chapter 5: Wrath

**Massacre**

**Chapter 5: Wrath**

Meanwhile, Agan barged into Felis Rex's mansion abruptly, searching for the room his leaders were in. He guessed to head for the left and sprinted to the door. Before any of the Golden Lions hear what's truly been happening, he must stop Quinton and Karna from signing that treaty.

He opened the door wide, seeing Quinton and Karna reading over the treaty. Everybody in the room looked up at Agan, who was breathless. Agan panted until he finally caught his breath. He couldn't believe how fast he arrived at this mansion and found them.

"This is really important," Agan stated, hoping Quinton would stop this meeting for this message.

"Sorry Felis Rex. Please wait one moment," Quinton apologised.

Quinton and Karna stood up from their seats and walked up to young Agan. Karna looked back at Felis Rex, who was staring at the treaty. He hoped that the cat Beastlord wasn't making amendments to it.

"This better be worth interrupting a meeting," Quinton charged.

"Felis Rex is deceiving us," Agan began, nervous about his leaders believing his first statement, "He has imprisoned humans underneath the arsenal against their will. And they are suffering. They've been underground for approximately two weeks. Something has to be done to save them."

"Was there a reason for this?" Karna questioned.

"The people trapped didn't know the reason, but they were forced underground by Felis Rex and his forces. However, Morte did come up with a very likely reason for this," Agan answered.

"Asherah? Don't you have better ideas yourself, Agan?" Karna demanded.

"The people agree with her reasoning. It's actually quite believable, given the situation," Agan responded.

"I want to hear this, especially because it sounds like she's maturing," Quinton replied.

"Right. You know the letter you got from Felis Rex two weeks ago? That was when he had forced the people to head underground in order to restrain the feral population's use of humans slaves. This was to simply look good, for us. So the humans had to be removed from town so they could learn to live without using people," Agan explained.

"Hmm, that sounds sensible enough. I'm impressed she's becoming more aware," Quinton complemented

"I agree, although I find it hard to believe it came from Morte," Karna grumbled.

"Well, it did. Anyway, what are you going to do with Felis Rex now?" Agan enquired.

"What we always do when deceived."

Quinton was first to approach the Beastlord, nervous of his reaction. Beastlords were very dangerous, and could easily kill him in one swipe. He kept his hand near his sword's hilt, prepared to draw it out.

Karna was indecisive. He wanted to help his leader, but he had to protect Agan too. After all, Agan was very young and still had his entire life ahead of him. The Golden Lions' second sensed that things were going to get very sour, very quickly.

"Felis Rex, I'm afraid we cannot sign the treaty," Quinton declared.

"Why?" Felis Rex demanded.

"We received disturbing information from one of our members regarding the treatment of human beings," Quinton answered.

"Humans don't reside in our town!" Felis Rex yelled.

At that moment, Karna stepped closer to Quinton, believing that he needed to guard his leader as Felis Rex's voice grew in aggression. It was clear that the Beastlord was focused on Quinton, and that he wouldn't launch himself at Agan to commence his first strike.

"Two of our members found humans under the arsenal and they were told horrible stories of cannibalism and starvation. How do you account for that?" Quinton questioned.

Felis Rex hissed, knowing that his plan was exposed to the two people he needed to convince. He glared at Agan as he stood from his seat, thinking that he was the one who relayed the message to them, ruining the opportunity to deceive the leaders of the Golden Lions.

Karna anticipated the danger Agan was in and was prepared to sprint towards the thirteen year old member. The adolescent was wondering when the cat Beastlord would admit to his indescribable crimes, unaware of the cat's aggressive feelings.

Suddenly, Felis Rex pounced. Karna ran towards Agan, noticing the cat aiming his claws towards the boy. Agan moved his hand quickly to his belt, drawing out his whip.

As soon as Felis Rex was in striking distance of Agan, Karna lunged forward and stepped in front of the teenager. The Beastlord clawed across Karna's face, removing his left eye in the process. Karna cried out as he clutched the area where his eye used to be, where the blood seeped through his fingers.

Agan realised Karna's sacrifice upon hearing his agonising moan of pain and turned to face the Beastlord. Felis Rex backed away, but prepared his next attack on the weakened duo.

However, Quinton drew his blade and slashed Felis Rex, forcing him to jump back. The leader continued to pummel Felis Rex with attacks, not only to press him to the front door, but to distract him from his teammates.

Agan took it as a sign to treat Karna's wounds. He searched through his satchel, trying to find something to heal the injury, or at least stop the blood from pouring out. Finally, he pulled out a white cloth and quickly tied it across Karna's bleeding eye, tying it up on the opposite side of the wound.

At the same time, Quinton kicked Felis Rex through the front doors, where he landed on the soft grass outside. Quinton raised his blade above his head, but was suddenly frozen in place.

The leader of the Golden Lions noticed, past Felis Rex's body before him, the dead bodies of ferals in the town. There were many males, but he spotted women and children among the dead bodies, forcing Quinton to think that the killer doesn't care about what gender or age they were. They were all the same.

Felis Rex eventually pulled himself up, surprised that Quinton didn't attack him. But by seeing the look on his face, Felis Rex turned around slowly to view what the Golden Lions leader was seeing.

The Beastlord immediately clutched his head once he saw the dead ferals of his kind scattered across the village. He could tell they were dealt with mercilessly, but he couldn't believe they were cut down so easily.

"No! My people!" Felis Rex exclaimed, "What have you done?"

"I didn't do anything, but if it's one of us, I'm sure he'll receive the appropriate punishment," Quinton responded.

Felis Rex was looking at the dead bodies one by one, still in denial that his citizens were dead. Like Quinton, he was incredibly shocked that the children were slain among the adults. He desired them to grow up strong and healthy to preserve the future of his kind, but since they were murdered ruthlessly, Felis Rex wanted to kill the murderer for his deeds.

Agan and Karna walked up beside Quinton, also flabbergasted of the sight. Agan was stressed as well; suspecting who did it had pretty much thrown their place in the group away.

Soon enough, an auburn haired girl appeared near a tree, holding a blade covered in blood. She looked like she was on the brink of exhaustion, but her eyes still contained the burning hatred that kept her from fainting.

"You!" Felis Rex shouted, prowling at the girl, "I can smell the blood of my people on your blade!"

The girl remained silent as she staggered from the tree. She gazed at her teammates, who were upset at her for killing all those innocent ferals for no good reason. She didn't care though, as she spotted the Beastlord and wished to murder him herself.

"Why did you do this?" Felis Rex demanded.

"Because you and your townspeople treated humans like slaves! You stripped them of every right we should have! That's why you and your townspeople have to die!" the girl barked.

"Then prepare to die!" Felis Rex shouted.

He quickly transformed into his beast form and launched himself at the girl. The girl knew that he exposed himself for the kill. She raised her weapon at waist level and anticipated him.

Suddenly, when in range, she swang her sword with perfect timing. Felis Rex reverted back to his normal self and fell on the grass. She looked down at her defeated opponent and smiled as Felis Rex took one last look at her face. Unexpectedly, Felis Rex suddenly burst into laughter, which confounded the girl.

"What are you laughing at? I killed you in one blow!" the girl exclaimed.

"But I won't be the one in misery. Soon Morte, you'll be running from us for the rest of your life," Felis Rex confidently declared.

"How did you know my name?" Morte questioned.

"Your pathetic leaders told me. I like children, but you're the exception," Felis Rex answered.

"That makes me feel special. But let me tell you something. I'm not running away from your Beastlord friends. I'll fight them and kill them as quickly as I killed you," Morte retorted.

"Then I'll be laughing at your fruitless attempts from-" Felis Rex responded before he stopped breathing.

Morte stared at the Beastlord's limp body for a while before she realised she was spent. Suddenly, her energy was sapped and collapsed near Felis Rex's remains.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>The only thing of particular interest was how Karna lost his eye. I put that in because it was never explained in the game.

Sorry for the late update, and I hope I can bring the next chapter as soon as next week for you guys!


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